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T?hoku region

Coordinates : 38°54′N 140°40′E  /  38.90°N 140.67°E  / 38.90; 140.67
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Tohoku" redirects here. For other uses, see Tohoku (disambiguation) .
T?hoku region
東北地方
Region
Map showing the Tōhoku region of Japan. It comprises the northeast area of the island of Honshu.
T?hoku region in Japan
Map
Prefectures and major cities in Tōhoku
Prefectures and major cities in T?hoku
Coordinates: 38°54′N 140°40′E  /  38.90°N 140.67°E  / 38.90; 140.67
Country Japan
Area
 ? Total 66,951.97 km 2 (25,850.30 sq mi)
Population
  (August 1, 2023)
 ? Total 8,331,385
 ? Density 120/km 2 (320/sq mi)
Gross Regional Product
[1]
 ? Total JP￥ 35.159 trillion
US$ 323 billion
Time zone UTC+09:00 ( JST )

The T?hoku region ( 東北地方 , T?hoku-chih? , IPA: [toːhok?? t?i?hoː] ) , Northeast region , ?u region ( ?羽地方 , ?u-chih? ) , or Northeast Japan ( 東北日本 , T?hoku Nihon ) consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu , the largest island of Japan . This traditional region consists of six prefectures ( ken ): Akita , Aomori , Fukushima , Iwate , Miyagi , and Yamagata . [2]

T?hoku retains a reputation as a remote, scenic region with a harsh climate . In the 20th century, tourism became a major industry in the T?hoku region.

History [ edit ]

Main article: Mutsu Province
Main article: Dewa Province

Ancient & Classical period [ edit ]

Northern Fujiwara

In mythological times, the area was known as Azuma (吾妻, あづま) and corresponded to the area of Honshu occupied by the native Emishi and Ainu . The area was historically the Dewa and the Michinoku regions, [3] a term first recorded in Hitachi-no-kuni Fudoki ( 常陸?風土記 ) (654). There is some variation in modern usage of the term "Michinoku". [4]

T?hoku's initial historical settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries, well after Japanese civilization and culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. The last stronghold of the indigenous Emishi on Honshu and the site of many battles , the region has maintained a degree of autonomy from Kyoto at various times throughout history.

The Northern Fujiwara (?州藤原氏 ?sh? Fujiwara-shi ) were a Japanese noble family that ruled the T?hoku region during the 12th century as their own realm. They kept their independence vis-a-vis the Imperial Court in Kyoto by the strength of their warrior bands until they were overwhelmed by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1189. [5]

Feudal period [ edit ]

Christianity in T?hoku [ edit ]

Cast iron teapots like this one sit atop stoves during the long winters in T?hoku.

Date Masamune (1567?1636), feudal lord of Date clan , expanded trade in the T?hoku region. Although initially faced with attacks by hostile clans, he managed to overcome them after a few defeats and eventually ruled one of the largest fiefdoms of the later Tokugawa shogunate . He built many palaces and worked on many projects to beautify the region. He is also known to have encouraged foreigners to come to his land. Even though he funded and promoted an envoy to establish relations with the Pope in Rome, he was likely motivated at least in part by a desire for foreign technology, similar to that of other lords, such as Oda Nobunaga . He showed sympathy for Christian missionaries and traders in Japan. In addition to allowing them to come and preach in his province, he also released the prisoner and missionary Padre Sotelo from the hands of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Date Masamune allowed Sotelo as well as other missionaries to practice their religion and win converts in T?hoku.

Further, once Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543?1616) outlawed Christianity, Masamune reversed his position, and though disliking it, let Ieyasu persecute Christians in his domain. For 270 years, T?hoku remained a place of tourism, trade and prosperity. Matsushima , for instance, a series of tiny islands, was praised for its beauty and serenity by the wandering haiku poet Matsuo Bash? .

Early modern period [ edit ]

Aizuwakamatsu Castle after the Battle of Aizu , 1868 photograph

The haiku poet Matsuo Bash? (1644?1694) wrote Oku no Hosomichi ( The Narrow Road to the Deep North ) during his travels through T?hoku.

Contemporary period [ edit ]

In the 1960s, ironworks , steelmaking , cement , chemical industry , pulp , and petroleum refining industries began developing. The region is traditionally known as a less developed area of Japan. [6]

The catastrophic 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, inflicted massive damage along the east coast of this region, causing 19,759 deaths, [7] and was the costliest natural disaster ever which left 500,000 people homeless along with radioactive emissions from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster .

Geography [ edit ]

The T?hoku region and Hokkaido seen from space
Geofeatures map of Tohoku

T?hoku, like most of Japan, is hilly or mountainous, with the ?u Mountains running north?south. The inland location of many of the region's lowlands has led to a concentration of much of the population there. Coupled with coastlines that do not favor seaport development, this settlement pattern resulted in a much greater than usual dependence on land and rail transportation. Low points in the central mountain range make communications between lowlands on either side of the range moderately easy.

T?hoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo - Yokohama market with rice and other farming commodities. T?hoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop.

Subdivision [ edit ]

The most often used subdivision of the region is dividing it to "North T?hoku" ( 北東北 , Kita-T?hoku ) consisting of Aomori, Akita, and Iwate Prefectures and "South T?hoku" ( 南東北 , Minami-T?hoku ) consisting of Yamagata, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures.

Climate [ edit ]

The climate is colder than in other parts of Honsh? due to the stronger effect of the Siberian High , and permits only one crop a year on paddy fields. The Pacific coast of Tohoku, however, is generally much less snowy than the region's popular image and has among the smallest seasonal temperature variation in Japan. The city of Iwaki, for instance, has daily mean temperatures ranging from 3.0 °C (37.4 °F) in January to 23.9 °C (75.0 °F) in August.

Cities and populated areas [ edit ]

Core cities [ edit ]

Other cities [ edit ]

Demographics [ edit ]

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1884 3,957,085 ?    
1898 4,893,747 +23.7%
1920 5,793,974 +18.4%
1940 7,164,674 +23.7%
1950 9,021,809 +25.9%
1955 9,334,442 +3.5%
1970 9,031,197 ?3.2%
1975 9,232,875 +2.2%
1980 9,572,088 +3.7%
1985 9,730,352 +1.7%
1990 9,738,284 +0.1%
1995 9,834,124 +1.0%
2000 9,817,589 ?0.2%
2010 9,335,636 ?4.9%
2023 8,400,960 ?10.0%
Note: All figures since 1920 are October, except 2023 which is 1/1.
Source: Japan Census figures except latest which from ja:東北地方

The population decline of T?hoku, which began before the year 2000, has accelerated, now including previously dynamic Miyagi . Despite this, Sendai City has grown, in part due to relocations of people affected by the 2011 disaster. The population decline of Aomori, Iwate and Akita Prefectures, Honshu's three northernmost, began in the early 1980s after an initial loss of population in the late 1950s. Fukushima Prefecture, prior to 1980, had traditionally been the most populated, but today Miyagi is the most populated and urban by far.

Points of interest [ edit ]

Natural features [ edit ]

Parks [ edit ]

Historical features [ edit ]

Onsen [ edit ]

Festivals [ edit ]

See also [ edit ]

Notes [ edit ]

  1. ^ "?民??計算（平成23年度 - 令和２年度）（2008SNA、平成27年基準計?）＜47都道府?、4政令指定都市分＞" .
  2. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frederic. (2005). "T?hoku" in Japan Encyclopedia , p. 970 , p. 970, at Google Books
  3. ^ Hanihara, Kazuro. "Emishi, Ezo and Ainu: An Anthropological Perspective," Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine Japan Review , 1990, 1:37 (PDF p. 3).
  4. ^ McCullough, Helen Craig. (1988). The Tale of the Heike , p. 81 , p. 81, at Google Books ; excerpt, "Furthermore, in the old days, the two famous eastern provinces, Dewa and Michinoku, were a single province made up of sixty-six districts, of which twelve were split off to create Dewa."
  5. ^ LOUIS FREDERIC (2008). "O Japao" . Dicionario e Civilizacao . Rio de Janeiro: Globo Livros. pp. 223?224. ISBN   9788525046161 . Archived from the original on 7 October 2022 . Retrieved 3 November 2020 .
  6. ^ Dentsu. (1970). Industrial Japan, Issues 18?26, p. 58 Archived 2022-10-07 at the Wayback Machine ; retrieved 2013-4-17.
  7. ^ "平成23年（2011年）東北地方太平洋沖地震（東日本大震災）について（第162報）（令和4年3月8日）" [Press release no. 162 of the 2011 Tohuku earthquake] (PDF) . ?務省消防?災害?策本部 [ Fire and Disaster Management Agency ]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2022 . Retrieved 23 September 2022 . Page 31 of the PDF file.

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for T?hoku region .
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